CHAPTER SIXTEEN!
────demon castle: return (2)

❝SHE'S LIKE THE SUN.❞

AZAZEL'S SUDDEN CHNAGE IN tone and demeanor scared [y/n] a bit but she needed answers.

"war? a war against what?" she questions.

he replies immediately. "yes. it was a war against an enemy so powerful that all the demons were required to gather together..."

her eyes widen when something strange happens.

"YOU HAVE SURPASSED THE ALLOWED AMOUNT OF INFORMATION. THE CONVERSATION WILL BE INTERRUPTED."

he kept repeating the same sentence and it reminded her of what happened to baruka. 'it's like the system doesn't want me to know. that means talking to them can provide me with some type of clue!'

the connection has her smiling a bit. 'leveling up, instant dungeons, rewards, and penalties. everything is like a video game it would only make sense if these demons have some kinda lore.'

"who is the powerful enemy you mentioned?" she asks hoping to get more clues to relay to jin-woo.

azazel tries to answer but he was having trouble to do so, his oak wood eyes roll to the back of his head and flutter shut, his knees give out and he faints.

[y/n] eyes widen in panic. "AZAZEL!" she calls and catches him before he can hit the ground.

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THE FEMALE PLAYER lays the demon prince on the ground, using the red cape he was wearing as a pillow.

she furrows her eyebrows, standing off to the side. 'the enemy must have been powerful if the system reacted like that...'

"then the enemies that the demons are fighting. they must be the key..." she mumbles, eyeing azazel.

she sighs and looks away, 'i wonder what jin-woo is doing? i know i said his sister would be safe with him but there's a chance she might piss him off. after i get the entry pass i'll regroup with him...'

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A FEW HOURS later, azazel regains consciousness.

he sits up with a groan and rubs his temples. 'when did i fall asleep?' he questions, remembering he was perfectly awake.

"ah, so you woke up!"

he turns to face with smiling [y/n] standing in front of a pile of dead demons causing to go wide-eyed.

she giggles at his reaction. "are demons not friendly with each other? cause these guys tried to attack you." she points at the pile.

he nods and gets up, dusting off his armor. "thank you for protecting me, lady [y/n]. demons without intellect don't consider demons with intellect as the same race." he explains as her inspects her figure.

she notices this and raises her brow. "are you alright? why are you looking at me like that?" she questions and he frowns.

"you aren't hurt anywhere? a lady as beautiful as you shouldn't be fighting such hard battles." azazel states with a worried look.

though it sounded a bit offensive, the female player knew he was just genuinely concerned.

she shakes her head with a chuckle. "azazel, i've fought things you wouldn't imagine. trust me, i know how to take care of myself."

his oak wood eyes study her face as she gives him a warm closed-eyed smile. he then nods, accepting her answer but still holding a small amount of worry.

"HOW FAR IS THE PLACE WITH THE ENTRY PASS?"

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THE DEMON GLADLY led the female player back to his home so she could acquire the entry pass.

they entered a grand castle on the far side of the floor. the brunette leads her down a long hallway. 'a demon castle inside a demon castle, funny.' [y/n] comments inspecting her surroundings.

"where is my father?" azazel asks a nearby demon knight.

the demon knight looks at the [h/c] haired woman in confusion. "he is currently in the throne room. lord azazel, who is that woman behind you? did you find a suitable candidate?" he questions.

the demon prince's face flushes and shakes his head. "n-no! she's an important guest, so please show her some courtesy." he explains frantically.

he eyes [y/n] and he lets out a sigh of relief seeing that she didn't pay attention.

"has my sister returned?" the prince asks one last question, hoping to hear a good news.

the knight shakes his head. "no, she hasn't arrived yet, lord azazel."

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THE TWO ENTER a grand room, it was obvious it was the main throne room.

azazel gives his father a curt bow, greeting him. "father, i've brought a guest.

'this must be the throne room. if me and woo fought our way here then this could have been the boss fight...' she thinks, looking around.

the king stays silent before speaking. "azazel... y-you..." he stammers, confusing the two.

"WHO IN THE WORLD DID YOU BRING HERE?!"

he shrieks, clearly noticing how dangerous [y/n] is. the brunette demon furrows his eyebrows. "father, this woman is a guest..." he starts but his father cuts him off.

"JUST WHAT KIND OF GUEST COMES TO SOMEONE ELSE'S HOME WITH AN AMRY!"

azazel eyes widened in shock, utterly confused at what his father was talking about.

"AZAZEL CAN'T YOU SEE IT WITH YOUR EYES?! THERE ARE COUNTLESS SOLDIERS HIDDEN IN THAT WOMEN'S SOUL!!"

this surprises [y/n] and she tilts her head. 'he must have some good foresight if he can sense my knights...'

"YOU DARE TO BRING YOUR SOLDIERS IN MY HOME WRETCHED WOMEN?!"

demon knights who guarded the throne room surrounded her and pointed their swords at her. to which, the demon prince panics as he was pushed to the side and protected by a demon knight.

"WAIT FATHER SHE DOESNT MEAN ANY HARM!" azazel exclaims, trying to reason with his father.

but before the [h/c] haired player could even defend herself, the doors to the throne room were kicked open. as the air of death filled the atmosphere and everyone snapped their heads to the door.

a tall, dark-haired figure stood at the entrance, surrounded by a shadowy aura.

it was jin-woo.

his glowing were narrowed as he scanned the room. his eyes landing on [y/n] being threatened.

his suspicions were correct.

he heard the yelling down the hall when he arrived with esil and when there was a mention of a woman with soldiers, he immediately knew it was his friend.

thinking the worst he ran her to see what was happening, only to find his beloved [n/n] surrounded.

in an instant second, he was right at her side. an arm around her and pulling her towards his chest.

his eyes glared towards the king that sat at the end of the throne, scaring the living daylights out of him.

another person has entered his home with another army hidden in his shadow.

"W-WAIT! SIR JIN-WOO!" a girl's voice calls, running into the throne room.

it was lady esil, the younger sister of azazel.

her eyes widen at the scene before her and her eyes land on the [h/c] haired player. 'so that must be the girl he was talking about... he must care for her if he reacted so drastically like that.' she assumes as her brother approaches her.

"esil, you're safe!" azazel exclaims, bringing her into a hug. the purple-haired girl leans into his her older brother's touch, happy to know he was also safe.

they break apart and look at the two adults they brought as guests with worried eyes, before they could explain further, [y/n] beats them to it.

she signals jin-woo that she was fine and he reluctantly lets her go, trusting her judgment.

she tries to calm her beating heart and steps forward. "i promised azazel that me and my friend will leave this place quietly if you hand us the entry pass." she explains with a kind expression.

the king gulps as he stares at the two, wondering if they were the two whose been killing demons and climbing the tower.

the two players tell the demon knights that mean no harm. the siblings assure them that they're telling the truth and they back off.

"the entry pass... is that all you want?" the king asks, his voice a bit shaky.

"one more thing."

the two players bring an arm around the respective siblings that brought them to the castle as blush dusts their cheeks.

"we need to borrow them for a bit!"

the two lock eyes, knowing they had the same plan. they needed them to guide to where the other entry passes are.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

AFTER THINGS SETTLED down, the king decided to talk things out over dinner.

jin-woo and [y/n] sat side by side as they eat the dinner they'd been given.

"guides? you're okay with just an entry pass and guides?" the king asks again.

the dark-haired player deadpans at the demon. 'he must've misunderstood me when i said i wanted to borrow esil.' he guesses, who glances at the girl who sat beside her brother.

"you won't put my daughter or son in danger, correct?" he interrogated, and the two nod, saying that they'll be fine. in which, azazel groans.

he faces his father with an annoyed look. "father, i can very much well take care of myself." he argues causing [y/n] to giggle.

"says the guy who was at the end of my dagger." she teases causing him to blush in embarrassment.

jin-woo smirks proudly at his friend knowing she handled the demon prince just fine.

'that's my girl...'

he snaps her head towards her. "i- i only held back because i didn't want to hurt you! i thought i would be fighting sir jin-woo!" he exclaims, trying to defend himself.

"you beat my brother! that's an amazing lady [y/n], i could never beat him when we spar." esil adds looking at her with stars in her eyes.

she waves the girl's compliment off and thanks her. as they begin chatting with her like old friends.

though he shouldn't be surprised, the male player is always in shock at how quickly she can click with other people.

his steel-grey eyes gaze over to azazel who looked a bit annoyed. "so, you wanted to face off with me?" jin-woo questions and this catches the demon prince's attention.

"i did. from the intel we gathered, we had thought the black shadows were lady [y/n]'s army. she was quite friendly with them." he adds, munching on his food.

jin-woo can't help but sweat, 'they were spying on us? i didn't even feel their presence...'

azazel continues explaining, "so, my sister was sent to attack those monsters while i faced the ones in white, thinking they were your's." he explains with a huff as he takes a bite of his food.

he locks eyes with the male player's eyes. "but she said if i had faced off with you, the result would have been the same."

jin-woo deadpanned knowing [y/n] was right.

the king watched them converse, surprised that his children were casually interacting with them.

he clears his throat, catching their attention, and they turn to him. he waves his hand and a servant approaches the two players with a tray.

[y/n] grabs the scroll that laid on the tray and checks the item. 'so this really is the entry pass...' she thinks, she nods to jin-woo verifying it was real.

the two get up from the table in unison and face the demon siblings. "will you both be able to leave immediately?" the dark-haired player asks them.

they nod when system notifications pop up.

[DEMON NOBLES HAVE REQUESTED FOR A PARTY.]

[PARTY MEMBERS CAN ACCESS THE MOVEMENT CIRCLE AND DEPENDING ON THE CONTRIBUTION, POSSIBLY SHARE EXPERIENCE.]

'share experience? it's a bit different when with me and [n/n]. we can only share experience if we actively work together...' jin-woo thinks, turning to the two siblings.

"if there's a battle, don't interfere. we can take care of ourselves." he adds and esil nods, blush dusting her cheeks. while azazel sulks, hoping he would participate.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THE GROUP GO up the next floor, all in their respective gear.

"are you two fine with not riding your horses?" [y/n] asks, as they exit the magic circle.

esil nods with a smile. "only the party members can access the movement circle. so we can't bring our horses." she explains, clutching her weapon close. while azazel carried a large bag with his sword at his waist.

"lady [y/n], sir jin-woo. please wait a moment." the brunette calls as the two players stop.

he drops the bag to the ground and opens it, holding out a glass bottle. "this alcohol is the one that the head of the garshi clan loves. our father prepared items that each of the clan heads will appreciate."

this confuses the two and the [h/c] haired player tilts her head. "why would we need that?" she asks.

"if we bring these with us, negotiations will go more smoothly." he further explains.

jin-woo cuts him off. "negotiations? are you guys friendly with the garshi clan by any chance?"

"ah no... since the clans have always disputed over rankings back in the demon world... they're not someone we're hostile with." esil states nervously and this causes the two players to smile.

they turn to each other with glowing eyes. "there are 19 floors left, let's alternate between floors." [y/n] suggests and jin-woo nods agreeing with her.

"think of a number 1 through 10."

"um, 8."

"oooh tough luck! it was actually 9!"

the dark-haired player groans causing the [h/c] haired player to giggle.

"don't worry woo, i won't take that long!" she reassures while the siblings watched in confusion.

azazel stands up, looking between the two. "wait, what's going on?"

[y/n] smiles at the demon. "i'll be entering on my own. so wait outside, okay?" she orders and this worries the brunette.

"you can't possibly be thinking facing the clan on your own lady [y/n]?! at least let me— i mean, one of us come with you!" he exclaims, grabbing her hand in hopes to convince her.

jin-woo eyes narrow, not liking the way he was touching his friend so casually.

the female player shakes her head and retracts her hand, turning to walk away.

"it'll be fine! i won't take long, just wait here!"

she states, giving them a backward wave as walks towards the castle.

the three watch her figure disappear in the distance. then azazel turns to jin-woo with an annoyed look.

"are you seriously going to let her fight alone? have you no chivalry!?" he argues as esil tries to stop her brother from doing something rash.

he turns to look at the demon prince, his eyes glowing a dark blue. "she can very well take care of herself. if i didn't know that, i would have gone with her." he replies coldly.

the demon growls a bit but drops the topic as he looks over to the castle in worry, he notices this and raises a brow.

he may be a bit oblivious but he wasn't stupid. 'like he has a chance in hell...'

it only took a few minutes for the flames to erupt along with the screaming...

FROM THE GARSHI CLAN'S CASTLE.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

AS PLANNED, THE two players alternate in destroying the clans and getting their entry passes.

the three wait for [y/n] as it was her turn to fight the clan, to which angered azazel. it was obvious to jin-woo he took a liking to the [h/c] haired player not knowing she had her heart set on someone else.

to put him in his place, he took the quickest in defeating the clans as to show he can't be beaten.

esil was quick to figure it out since he had seen her brother flirting with the pretty woman. when she wasn't around, she teased them both. the male player mostly ignored her teasing while azazel tried defending himself.

while they waited, jin-woo was promoting igirs' rank, who now had the level of an s-rank.

"woo!"

someone calls for him and looks in the direction of the voice. his eyes soften to see [y/n] running towards him with a big smile on her face, scar, and icarus right behind her.

he lets her holds onto his arm and while she bounces in excitement. "guess what woo! guess what!" she questions like a giddy child.

without thinking, he holds her face with his hand. "what's got you so excited [n/n]?" he asks, his voice full of adoration.

"when i finished fighting, i got to promote icarus and scar! icarus is now an elite knight and scar an elite! isn't that amazing!" she states with stars in her eyes and heat rising her cheeks.

he chuckles at her happy expression knowing that she loves her summons like family. he lets go of her face and ruffles her hair. "that is amazing [n/n]. in fact, i also promoted igirs as well." he states and her face got even brighter.

"really! that's so badass! let me see him!"

"hahah! i will don't worry."

the two demon siblings watched the players interact. esil eyes her brother who has sad look on his face.

"you really like her don't you, brother?" she points out and he flinches

his face flushes in embarrassment and averts his gaze. "n-no! i'm just being gentlemen like one should!" azazel argues causing her to giggle.

"but they look good together don't they..." she states, going back to watching the two players.

the brunette demon sighs and put his eyes on the two. he sees how happy [y/n] is with jin-woo and vice versa.

azazel knew he had no chance, it was obvious. but he didn't know why he kept trying. something about her pulled him in, she was different from other girls he's met.

'rather than delicate blooms tended in a garden...' he thinks as he watches the two hold hands and chatter amongst each other.

his oak wood eyes trail up to stare at [y/n] face, her [e/c] eyes glittered like jewels, her [s/c] skin glowing, and her smile that shined like the sun.

'WHY IS IT THAT THE WILD FLOWERS UNBROKEN BY WIND OR RAIN SEEM ALL THE MORE BEAUTIFUL...?'

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THE TWO DEMON siblings warned the players that on the 90th floor, the difficulty will increase.

because of this, the two players decided to abandon the original plan they had and fought together instead.

ON THE 97TH FLOOR...

[y/n] cuts down two demons with her daggers, one comes up from behind her and tries to hit her. she avoids it and jumps up, stabbing the demon in the head. some of its blood splattered across her face.

not bothered by it, she lands on the ground gracefully. by now, she and jin-woo reached level 90.

the two regroup and as the siblings watched in awe, their strength was extraordinary.

"are the other humans as strong as sir jin-woo and lady [y/n]?" esil asks with wide eyes.

the female player hums and taps her chin. "i think maybe... two other people." she answers, as cha hae-in and the chairman come to mind.

"that's quite the feat lady [y/n]..." azazel adds, still in awe of her strength.

she giggles and rubs the back of her neck as jin-woo approaches the three.

he faces the two siblings. "i think it's time for you two to go back to your floor. we can take care of ourselves from here." he states and sadden looks appear on their faces.

"are... are we no longer useful to you?" esil stammers with a frown.

[y/n] sadly smiles at her and pats her head. "you were very useful to us esil." she turns to look at her brother. "both of you were, you've done well up until now."

she retracts her hand and joins jin-woo's side. as they getting ready to leave...

"WAIT!"

the two turn to look over their shoulders and see azazel outstretching his hand a bit. "we... we want to go with you. we want to see the outcome of your fight." he exclaims while his sister nods.

the two players glance at each other and sigh. they lock eyes with the two siblings.

"DO AS YOU PLEASE."

with that, the demon siblings follow the players into the movement circle.

[MOVING TO THE 98TH FLOOR.]

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THE GROUP REACHES the 100th floor.

unlike floors before, it wasn't on fire. it was barren and dark, the castle looked wrecked and abandoned.

the two players kept their guard up when they sense a magical presence coming towards them.

their eyes glow as they look to the sky, seeing a dragon like figure diving down.

the white dragon lands on top of a broken tower of the castle, its body coated it sparks of electricity. it was obvious who the dragon belong to seeing he was standing on top of the saddle.

[DEMON KING BARAN.]

he hand his sword in hand and his eyes glowed red as he stares down at the two players, his aura was malicious.

'that's him alright... but where is—!' [y/n] thinks as her thoughts were interrupted by an ear-shattering roar.

the two snap their heads to the sky to see another dragon flying down and landing on the tower opposite of baran.

this dragon was black as night and its eyes were a sharp violet color. the female player felt someone watch her specifically, the aura she felt was intense and it was directed at her.

she stares at the person who stood on top of the dragon, knowing exactly who it was.

[DEMON QUEEN ARCANE.]

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

ARCANE, THE DEMON QUEEN

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

the demon siblings stare in awe, though they were the same race as them. this was their first time seeing the king and queen.

jin-woo and [y/n] look between the two high-ranking demons, it was obvious who's boss was who's.

even though they've reached level 93, they couldn't help but feel intimidated by them.

they ask themselves.

'CAN WE... CAN WE AGAINST THEM?'

CHAPTER SIXTEEN END!
────demon castle: return (2)